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Xtra Time Web Desk: Team India on Wednesday suffered a 31 run defeat in the 1st ODI on the hands of a resilient South African team led by Temba Bavuma. The Proteas posted a score of 296/4 batting first, after winning the toss, courtesy of centuries from Rassie Van der Dussen and the skipper himself and restricted their opponents to a score of 265/8 to take a 1-0 lead in the 3 match ODI series.

Team India's loss raised questions about KL Rahul's future in the leadership role as Team India's captain. He himself will target to score runs after Team India's huge loss in the 1st ODI match against South Africa.

While the team will look into making alternative changes in the batting, whereas the the bowling performance has left the team management with plenty to ponder. It is yet to witness whether Team India sticks to same bowling combinations or will bring Mohammad Siraj or Suryakumar Yadav to the field.

The Indian Team was left with no answers to Temba Bavuma and van der Dussen who took the innings away with contrasting centuries. The bowling unit needs to polish for picking up wickets at the crusial hour.
Also, Venkatesh Iyer, who made his ODI debut on Wednesday, didn't bowl a single over in the match, raising questions over his role in the team as an all-rounder.

Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer tried to pull the chasing 296 runs after the the fourth wicket, adding 29 runs but they soon fell in successive overs. Team India could possibly launch another debut if head coach Rahul Dravid decides to tinker with the batting combination. Shardul Thakur's late flourish after fine knocks from Dhawan & Kohli were the positives for the Indian camp.

Another difference between both sides was the performance of their spin units. Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal in their combined 20 overs gave away 106 runs for a single pluck. Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, on the other hand, bowled 26 overs between them for 124 runs and snared four wickets. The visiting unit has many issues to address to avoid another series defeat on South African soil.

Possible Team India line up: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj